Brawn BGP001 aero-mech development in 2009

[wesley123]

i was searching around for some other detail shots from the BGP001, and i found this weird thing:
as seen in the pic there is a hole in the sidepod, is this a turning vane, cooling or am i seeing it wrong?

[ColinPowell]

i was searching around for some other detail shots from the BGP001, and i found this weird thing:
as seen in the pic there is a hole in the sidepod, is this a turning vane, cooling or am i seeing it wrong?

Are you talking the thing top right? I'm pretty sure that is a reflection. If you use an arrow, we'll know what you're refering to.

Also - Hi, I'm a lurker that has recently signed up. Thanks Bar555 for these really top threads.

[BreezyRacer]

I would like to know where that light is coming from shining on top of the splitter .. or if it's not a light what is it?

[scarbs]

That is an opening you see in the undercut on the sidepods. However its not cooling or a vane. The original Brawn sidepods were even more undercut, the team added a small infill panel, I am guessing to keep the flow passing off the t-tray splitter tidy. As this small infill panel spanned the permanent sidepod front and the removable engine cover, it is split into two. What you see here is the front section and the engine cover did not have the infill panel bonded on. I only saw this in practice for a GP early in the season, but it always Q’d and raced with both parts in place.

[Fil]

are we talking about the faint line extending from both bolt-holes on the sidepod?

I would like to know where that light is coming from shining on top of the splitter .. or if it's not a light what is it?

going by the colour of the road, it looks like this photo is taken in the pits. if the photographer is facing the pit facilities, the light is from above/inside one of the pit boxes.

[scarbs]

are we talking about the faint line extending from both bolt-holes on the sidepod?

No the scruffy black bodywork\opening in the middle below that line

[Fil]

ahhh i see it now! wow that's a pretty good pickup by wesley!

so the sidepods were designed to be more undercut before the team switched to Merc engines? or this was just a natural development?
seems odd to use a filler panel of that sort of shape, and not just reshape the whole front of the sidepod..

[scarbs]

I doubt this part is related to cooling or the Merc switch. merely a aero part related to the flow passing low around the splitter and sidepod

Using a bonded on part would have been more attractive to the team. Otherwise they would have needed all new moulds for the sidepod fronts and engine cover. As they are parts that change very little through the year, it probably wasnt worth the cost and effort.

Look at every other picture of the car through the year and you see the join line around this panel.

[bar555]

The frontal sidepod undercut opening was ocassionally used by the team . For example it was used at China and Italy , but it was not at Silverstone and Singapore . At Monza’s image you can see the panel described previously by scarbs . I can post more images from other races if you like to or higher versions of the ones i have posted here .

[wesley123]

ah thank you guys for the explaination!

EDIT: i saw a few winter test pics, and what i noticed is that that infill panel is not there, instead it is really weird shaped in there, this made me think that this infill is just for an cleaner transition around the sidepods, wich wasnt the case without the infill.

[bar555]

GP of ABU DHABI


Undergone changes from Brazil
1.New sponsor logos ( Qatar Telecom )
2.Livery changes
2a.Back to white colored sidepod panels instead of black
2b.Back to white color front wing’s flap instead of yellow
3.An older version of front wing was used



GEARBOX - ABU DHABI


Button had a new gearbox for Abu Dhabi

[bar555]

FRONT WING - ABU DHABI




REAR WING - ABU DHABI

[ESPImperium]

From what ive been reading in Jenson Button: My Championship Year and F1 Racing (December 09 or January 10 issue, i cannot remember whitch one) that the Brawn BGP001 could have been up to 3 seconds faster than it actually was if it;

1) Was designed for the Mercedes Benz FO108W as the centre of gravity was raised about 2-3CM and the CoG for the gearbox was raised up to 4CM as well. Not to mention the 20KG extra carbon work that was at the back of the chassis to accomidate the FO108Ws power unit.
2) Aero work could have been better, again relating to the Mercedes unit.
3) Nosecone - Could have been developed futher and exploit the rules more to give better aero efficency.
4) Heat Generation in tyres. If this was resolved, the car could have been up with the Red Bull RB5 on colder days.
6) Rear wing - They only produced 3 types all season, about 14-18 in total, as they couldnt use what they had found in the tunnel and CFD due to budget constraints.
7) KERS - The RA109 was to have KERS for the RA807E powerplant, all to be housed below the drivers seat, but for the FO108W, they housed the oil tank here, and the KERS batteries would have gone here for the Mercedes unit. However, the control unit would have required a air cooling element to be added for the Mercedes unit.
8) Budget, if the yearly budget wasnt a rumored £110million and was the £400million that Honda were going to allocate, things would have been alot easier overall.

Basically if the whole car was designed for the Mercedes unit from Day 1, and not for the Honda unit, the BGP001 would have been about 2-3 seconds a lap faster. All things considered.

[raceman]

From what ive been reading in Jenson Button: My Championship Year and F1 Racing (December 09 or January 10 issue, i cannot remember whitch one) that the Brawn BGP001 could have been up to 3 seconds faster than it actually was if it;

1) Was designed for the Mercedes Benz FO108W as the centre of gravity was raised about 2-3CM and the CoG for the gearbox was raised up to 4CM as well. Not to mention the 20KG extra carbon work that was at the back of the chassis to accomidate the FO108Ws power unit.
2) Aero work could have been better, again relating to the Mercedes unit.
3) Nosecone - Could have been developed futher and exploit the rules more to give better aero efficency.
4) Heat Generation in tyres. If this was resolved, the car could have been up with the Red Bull RB5 on colder days.
6) Rear wing - They only produced 3 types all season, about 14-18 in total, as they couldnt use what they had found in the tunnel and CFD due to budget constraints.
7) KERS - The RA109 was to have KERS for the RA807E powerplant, all to be housed below the drivers seat, but for the FO108W, they housed the oil tank here, and the KERS batteries would have gone here for the Mercedes unit. However, the control unit would have required a air cooling element to be added for the Mercedes unit.
Budget, if the yearly budget wasnt a rumored £110million and was the £400million that Honda were going to allocate, things would have been alot easier overall.

Basically if the whole car was designed for the Mercedes unit from Day 1, and not for the Honda unit, the BGP001 would have been about 2-3 seconds a lap faster. All things considered.

mind-blowing facts, aren't they??

just imagine - what if.....!

[bar555]

The new 2010 Mercedes car would for sure be a further development of BGP001 ( rather than started from blank sheet ) based from the start on the Mercedes engine . We will see if it would be 3 or more seconds faster and if the above are based on reality or not . Of cource the new slimmer front tyres would play a key role on new car’s aero nad mechanical development